29 Vt. 111 | Vt. | 1856
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The orators seek to have perfected in themselves a title to lot No. 215 in Colchester, which, it is averred, was conveyed to them by Phineas Culver on the 14th of December, 1821.
The fact that no claim was made to this land by Mr. Culver after his installation, and that none has been made by his heirs for so long a period, is controlling evidence that they understood they had no claim to the land, and that it had, under that arrangement, been conveyed to the town of Colchester. The question now is not whether the town have lost their title to the land described in the bill by the adverse possession of other persons, as that is a matter to be tried at law, but whether the proof is sufficient that a valid deed was intended to have been executed by Mr. Culver conveying these premises to the town ; if so, and the deed has been defectively executed, it should be corrected or the plaintiffs’ title perfected as against Mr. Culver and those claiming under him, and the parties left to their legal remedies.
In relation to the consideration of that conveyance it is only necessary to observe that the deed specifies a consideration sufficient to cut off any resulting trust between the parties. It is rendered obvious also, that the conveyance of this ministerial right and the installation of Mr. Culver were all parts of the same arrangement, and that Mr. Culver was permitted to be clothed with the title of all these lands in consideration that the lands, with the exception of the lot near Malletts Bay, should be conveyed to the town of Colchester. If such was the arrangement, there is no propriety in saying that an instrument executed by him to carry that arrangement into effect shall not be made effectual
We think the facts stated in the bill are sufficiently proved by the testimony, and that the plaintiffs are entitled to a decree as prayed for in the bill. Decree of the chancellor reversed and case remanded with directions to grant the relief as stated in the prayer of the bill.